Meditation.

Many people process the word “meditation” as sitting on the floor criss-cross applesauce and chanting “om.” If that is how you do it, great. The good news is that is not the only way to meditate. Meditation is the simple act of thought watching. It works a lot like people watching. Imagine each thought as a random stranger. Look, even stare if you have to but whatever you do, don’t touch, judge or provoke. Watch and observe each thought as it passes by. By practicing this method over time you learn to leave your thoughts alone and remain peaceful as you process information and emotions. During the winter, our internal environment can begin to mimic our external one. Cold and dark. Meditation can help keep blizzards from starting inside.

Light therapy.

A big contributing factor to seasonal depression is the lack of daylight. With the days being shorter and clouds sticking around, gloom most definitely takes the win. Light therapy is for sure something to look into if need be. Brands like Verilux, Philips, Carex and Sunlight Jr. offer a selection of sunlight simulating lamps and boxes.

“The sunlight helps control our day and night cycles,” Health teacher Vincent Gervais said. “I have also read and heard that light allows our body to create melatonin which helps us not only sleep but get better quality sleep. This is when our body repairs and refreshes itself.”

Binaural beats.

The brain is a supercomputer composed of incredibly complex technology. Although that doesn’t mean it can’t be hacked (in a good way). Binaural beats are just the thing for the job. According to binauralbeatsmeditation.com, the brain vibrates at a certain frequency when performing a task. For instance, the brain’s wavelength for sleeping is 0.1 to four Hz, while the brains wavelength for problem-solving is 14 to 30 Hz. Binaural beats produce a slightly different frequency in each ear, resulting with one single frequency. This gets the brain into the select mode that is needed. Binaural beats can be an aid in sleep, studying, learning, relaxing and just simply feeling good overall. They can be found on almost all music platforms from Soundcloud to Spotify, One last thing to note is that in order for these to work properly, you must use headphones so each ear can pick up a different tone.

Vitamins.

At this day in age keeping up on essential vitamins is only becoming harder and harder. It’s not too late to start. A common vitamin to lack during the winter is vitamin D due to the lack of sunlight. According to Oldwayspt.org, vitamin D if not in supplement form can be found in high amounts in foods such as maitake mushrooms, portobello mushrooms, fortified almond milk and orange juice.

Getting physical.

Winter sports and activities such as skiing, snowboarding or ice skating can be a huge aid in keeping a steady, bright mood. Although staying active may be a hard thing to do if you aren’t into any winter sports, anything is possible. Getting outside and moving even a small amount a day can make a big difference. A healthy habit to get into could be basking in the sun whenever possible. Exposing yourself to natural daylight is beneficial and being outdoors is also recommended. Working out or swimming indoors would be a very useful thing to add to your weekly or daily routine as well.

“Exercise kicks out dopamine and endorphins,” Therapist James Mitchell said.  “Dopamine is a neurochemical that brings pleasure, motivation and positive thinking. Endorphins are hormones that bring about good & positive feelings as well.”

Bach flower remedy.

Bach flower rescue remedy is a great homeopathic medicine that helps with reducing stress, anxiety, sadness and maintaining overall emotional balance. Bach flower rescue remedy can come in a drop, spray, pastille and pearl form. According to Bachflower.com, there are seven bach flower groups that aid in seven different emotional directions. These include fear, uncertainty, interest, loneliness, over-sensitivity, despair and caring too much for others. These products can be found at Health Hutt, along with Walmart & GNC. Nature has many helping hands for dealing with life’s many struggles and this is only one example.